Flying the Long EZ

With only 125 HP the Long EZ air show performance is a demonstration of physics. Converting potential energy for kinetic energy.

1)               Starting 2500 above the ground at show right Smoke on 2 rolls on the down line Lon will accelerate to a speed of 200 MPH. 

           If you can't afford a military fighter the Long EZ may be the next best thing. It's cockpit is equipped with a semireclined chair, side stick controller on the right console making aerobatics and long range flight very comfortable

2)               A 1000 foot diameter loop at show center.

3)               Now climbing with a half roll to inverted flight, then pulling the nose of the airplane down this is called a reverse half Cuban eight Lon is using this maneuver to position the aircraft.

We would like to thank Becker Avionics and Pilotmall.com for helping make it possible for Lon's performance.

4)               As the  Long EZ passes show center Lon will start a Cuban 8. The Cuban 8 looks like an 8 on its side.

5)             With no airflow over its tail, How could it have air over it's tail the Long EZ has no tail. The  Long EZ will not do a hammerhead turn so Lon uses a modified wing over for a turnaround. This gives him an altitude gain of 500 feet at the top and shows the unique design of the Long EZ.

6)               With a record of 4,800 miles non-stop, the Long EZ was designed for long range efficient flight not inverted flight. Here at show center is something you will probably never see again, A Long EZ flying inverted.  Lon calls this the EZ ballistic inverted pass

7)               Once again repossessing the airplane for the next maneuver.

A Long EZ with a stock non-turbocharged 115 hp engine was flown to an altitude of 35,027 feet

8)               Barrel Roll. The barrel roll is a combination between a loop and a roll. You complete one loop while completing one roll at the same time. The flight path during a barrel roll has the shape of a horizontal corkscrew. Imagine a big barrel, with the airplanes wheels rolling along the inside of the barrel in a cork screw path.

When ever you see a Long EZ parked, the nose is on the ground. All the weight of the engine is behind the center of gravity; consequently, when the pilot gets out of the aircraft with the nose landing gear extended the plane can fall over onto the engine. Before the pilot climbs into the plane the nose landing gear must be extended.

9)               Turning around

Stalling most airplanes can be a bad thing. Long EZ's have a small wing (called a canard) in the front of the plane. Whenever a Long EZ has its airspeed decreased to a point that the airplane will no longer fly, the front wing will stall and fall just to the point where the aircraft is again flying fast enough to sustain flight. This design feature makes the Long EZ one of the safest airplanes ever built. It will not stall and fall out of the sky like other airplanes can. Because the airplane will not stall like most airplanes it will not spin.

10)          Ballistic knife edge pass.  Some airplanes will truly fly on their sides. The Long EZ will not. This knife edge pass is the same as throwing a rock in an arc. The plane will be dissipating energy as it goes up at the start of the pass and then it will start to fall as it crosses the top of the arc.

11)          Turn around

12)          90 degree turn away from show center followed by a 270 degree roll to the left. Recovering on the knife edge followed with a 90 degree turn to the right.

All airplanes can glide; however, the Long EZ is so efficient that with an altitude of 5 feet over the landing end of a runway, and an airspeed of 120 knots, the engine can be turned off, then the aircraft can climb back to an altitude high enough to fly a 360 degree landing pattern and land on the same runway. Don't expect Lon to demonstrate this for you.

As a result of the Long EZ's efficiency it has an airbrake on the belly and both wing tip rudders can be deflected outward to increase drag allowing the aircraft to descend at a higher rate.

13)          Photo pass and setup to land

           To find out more about Lon and the great companies that makes all this possible go to www.longezairshows.com

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